NEWS
OTHER SPORTS
DIARY
PEOPLE
MATCH REPORTS
SLIDE SHOW
ARCHIVES

Sobers expected Lara resignation

Brian Lara's resignation as West Indies cricket captain came as no surprise to all-time great Sir Garfield Sobers.

Sobers, the West Indies cricket legend of the 1960s and 1970s who has a close relationship with Lara, had long expected Lara to stand down, saying the gifted left-hander did not garner the kind of support he needed to effectively do the job.

"Brian is a far superior captain to whoever they think they are going to put there," Sir Garfield said Friday. "I think he should have been given a freer hand at his job and I am not surprised to learn of his retirement. So many things have been said about his captaincy which I thought were false."

Sobers, who fondly recalls the first time he saw Lara bat in the annual schoolboy competition which bears his name in his native Barbados, believes Lara still has the knowledge and ability to lead the West Indies. "I think he has come to the conclusion that he was not getting the support that he needed and it was time to give up the captaincy," Sobers said. "He probably felt that if he is going to continue to play, he would concentrate on his batting to see if he can redeem himself."

Sir Garfield said there were precious few candidates for the WICB to consider as replacements for the job which Lara assumed at the start of the home series against England two years ago.

"Most of the players who they will consider for captain can hardly hold their own in the West Indies team," he said. "So I think they will have a problem, but they will have to choose a captain and I suppose they will choose a captain the same way they choose a coach - one who is qualified."

Sir Garfield played 93 Tests between 1953 and 1974, scored 8,032 runs, captured 235 wickets and held 109 catches for West Indies.